


Red String

by NavigationalMistakes



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-14 23:38:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8033455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NavigationalMistakes/pseuds/NavigationalMistakes
Summary: The time it takes a moment of bravery from Christen.orHow long will it take for them to finally get it right.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Come say hi on tumblr!
> 
> Loudervoices

Noise filled the air around Tobin, as she stood outside the math building waiting for her two best friends, Amy and Lauren. There was no way they would survive pre-cal much less pass without each other. They became a source of pain for their teacher Mrs. Perks. On the first day of class it was much to their enjoyment that the desks were grouped in three and had open seating. The three girls quickly found themselves sitting at the back of the class, hoping that their athletic status would get them through the year. Unfortunately, Mrs. Perks had been around since the school opened and was not impressed by their abilities on the pitch. 

Tobin used her time to go over her notes as a last stich effort to study before her test. If she was being honest she had no idea what was happening in the class, and had no idea why she even signed up for it. She had already met all her requirements for math and was only a junior. 

“Tobbbyyyyyy,” the sound of Amy calling her name caused Tobin to look up, expecting to be met with Amy’s embrace she instead found herself looking straight into the greenest eyes she had ever seen. Before Tobin’s brain could catch up she felt a note being shoved into her hand, and the girl she had never seen before was gone. “Tobs!” 

*********************************************************************************************************

“Toby, what was that about?” Standing between the two girls she felt Lauren nudge her shoulder as Amy tried to get a better look at the girl, who was staring straight at the folded up piece of paper laying on her math notes. 

“Dude, I have no idea.” Stuffing the note in her pocket she looked up at the two girls as they paused outside their classroom, “I was just waiting for you two and when I heard Amy call me she was just there. I’ve never seen her before, have you?”

Bouncing up in excitement Amy poked the side of Tobin’s stomach, “Nope. Maybe she has a big ol’ crush on you!”

Tobin’s cheeks began to heat up as she desperately tried to get out of the inevitable conversation about her love life. “Will you quit. I don’t even know her!”

“Amy, leave Tobs alone.” Lauren, always coming Tobin’s rescue sent Amy a pointed look and lead the girls into the classroom as the final bell rang. 

As the girls tried to sneak to their seats they were met with the disapproving voice of Mrs. Perks, “so nice of you to join us girls, and just in the nick of time.” 

*********************************************************************************************************

“Amy, what do you want?” whispered Lauren, who was the last of the girls to be taking the test. Amy had been kicking her for the last five minutes much to Lauren’s annoyance. “Can’t you wait till I’m done?” with the amount of time Amy spent on her phone, neither girl could figure out how she managed to finish her tests so easily. The blonde hair girl would always spend the remaining of class doodling and trying to distract her friends. Amy found it amusing how long it took them to finally break and give into her antics. 

“oops, I was trying to get Tobin’s attention.” 

“What A-rod.”

“Have you read the note yet?” Amy sat with her chin on her hand as she waited for Tobin to tell her what the mystery girl had written. 

Without looking up Tobin tried to answer Amy with some authority, “no, I haven’t, and I am not going to until next class.” 

“What? Why” Amy’s sudden outburst among the quiet room earned herself a glare from their teacher who was perched at the front of the class.

“Ms. Rodriquez, is there something I can help with?” 

“No ma’am.” Before Amy could get an answer, the bell rang and Tobin was out the door before the other two could gather their things. 

“I am so telling everyone, Lauren, I want to know!” Lauren laughed to herself and shook her head at her persistent friend.

“She’ll tell us Amy, just leave her alone.” With a dramatic huff from Amy the two girls made their way to the hallway and parted ways. 

“I’ll see you at lunch Cheney.”

“See you Ames.”

*********************************************************************************************************

Tobin arrived early to her next class, much to the surprise of her English teacher. There was no one else in the room as Tobin pulled the note from her pocket and unfolded it upon her desk. 

Hi, 

You don’t know me. But I see you every day before 4th just standing outside the building. I know this is kinda weird and all. But I’ve seen you with your friends too and you’re just always smiling and looks like you’re having so much fun. Who has fun at school? I don’t know. I just I’ve wanted to say hi for a while, and well this seemed easier? Anyways I’m Christen. Write me back? I’ll see you tomorrow outside the math building. Maybe you’ll see me this time?

Christen

A slow smile crept up on Tobin’s face as she read the note. It was strange she had to admit, but there was something sweet and innocent about it. Pulling out her notebook Tobin began to write to Christen, she was actually excited to see what this mystery girl was about. As she wrote she was interrupted by an exaggerated cough.

“Have you found some good reading there Ms. Heath?” Her English teacher gave her a knowing look as she continued, “I was just wondering how you felt about Ms. Conn’s comparison of Dorian Gray and Narcissus.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I literally wrote this whole freaking chapter was editing and lost it all. So I had to rewrite it. And wouldn't you know, i like this version better. Enjoy.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr
> 
> Loudervoices
> 
> come say hi, ask your q's.

“Good bye Ms. Heath.” Tobin threw up her hands in a peace sign, laughing at herself for getting caught by her English teacher. As she joined the masses she felt and arm be thrown over her shoulder.

“Hey Tobs. What’s with the smile?” Tobin rolled her eyes at Ashlyn’s lack of a filter as she shoved her away and off her shoulders. 

“Yo, get off of me. Where’s Ali?” Tobin knew Ashlyn had been head over boots for the other girl, and was a sure way to distract her from the stupid smile she couldn’t seem to shake. The two girls had been friends before they ever even knew other girls existed in ways outside of friendship. They had spent many days as middle schoolers sitting by the pitch admiring the high school girls’ soccer team. A secret they wordlessly swore to take to the grave. 

“Dude, shut up.” 

With that the girls began making their way to the cafeteria to join their friends. Their laughter filled the hallway as they shoved each other into other students.  
As they walked through the cafeteria doors Tobin internally groaned as she saw Amy hunched over speaking in hushed tones to Kelley. In her post note stupor, she had forgotten that Amy and Lauren had witnessed the whole interaction earlier that day. Her eyes immediately locked with Lauren’s, who was apologizing for the other girl’s actions. She then landed her eyes to Alex who was sitting with her back turned towards the cafeteria doors, and was sitting a couple seats down from Kelley. Looking back to Lauren she pleaded for her to distract Amy before Alex could notice anything.

With understanding Lauren pushed a lunch tray towards Amy, “Hey Ames, did you see who Ryan was hanging out with this morning?”  
Wrapping her arm around Alex, Tobin placed a kiss to her cheek, “Hey babe.” Hey eyes thanking Lauren for putting a stop to whatever Amy and Kelley had been discussing. 

*****

The girl’s school was rumored to be modeled after a prison, and the longer Tobin stood outside the math building, the more it made sense. It was compromised of at least 9 different buildings that were laid out like the face of a clock. The buildings circled around the library adorned with an exaggerated clock tower. She found it odd, the library being the center of the school considering no one ever went. Tobin appreciated the school though. It allowed her to get outside between classes and escape the stiff air of the buildings. She didn’t even mind the rainy days when she would find herself soaked. However, when dating a girl who did her make up every morning, rainy days were the worst. Instead of roaming freely around the school, she was forced to be huddled under the few covered sidewalks, like cattle. Tobin hated rainy days. 

Like most things in her life Alex had taken her by surprised. As a lanky middle schooler she never would have imagined that her and Alex would actually be in a relationship. She especially never would have thought they would be together for 2 years, which to a high schooler, is a lifetime. Tobin had spent almost all of her 8th grade year pawning over Alex, who sat across from her in their reading class. Sometimes she would swear Alex was staring back at her, but would never let herself believe it. Being in middle school Tobin was the first of her friends to come out, and to say it was easy would be a lie. After she suffered the worst of the backlash, her friends began to come out too. In Tobin’s eyes, her dating pool consisted of her closest friends, and that wasn’t an option. 

It was at their end of the year 8th grade dance that Alex had finally had enough. As “Bouncing Off the Walls” blared from the speakers, she felt a hand grab at her flailing arms. Tobin looked to find Alex staring at her, willing her to still and focus on what was happening. Without a word or choice, Alex dragged Tobin from the group of girls and out of the converted assembly hall. As they rounded their way into a nearby hallway she had found herself fearful. Tobin hadn’t known what the other girl’s intentions were, and was looking for an escape route. She didn’t know if Alex was going to attack her or kiss her, either way she wasn’t ready. Her hands had grown clammy, her eyes dilated, and her feet seemed to forget how to walk. Before she could collect herself felt Alex come to a stop and gently push her into the brick wall behind her.

“Hey.”

*******

Tobin had spent half the night convincing herself that she wasn’t doing anything wrong. But she couldn’t deny that the whole thing excited her. She knew she was supposed to find Christen but all she could remember was her eyes. If that was all she could remember how was she supposed to give the girl her note, how was she ever going to find her if she couldn’t remember what the younger girl looked like. She was hoping to find the girl soon in order to avoid Amy and Lauren interrogating her again. Giving up she bowed her head and began shoving the paper into her pocket. She hadn’t noticed that someone had approached her until she saw a hand grab her wrist, stopping her from putting the note away. 

“That isn’t for me is it?” 

Tobin hadn’t known what she expected the other girls voice to sound like, but she was slightly taken back. Her voice was soft and filled with what she could only describe as tranquility. Christen stood at near perfect eye level, which explained why it was all Tobin could remember about her. This time, she was determined to remember everything she could. Without shame, Tobin’s eyes moved down the other girl’s body. Starting from her eyes, to her shoulders, to her waist, to her legs, and back up. Christen hadn’t seemed to mind as she patiently waited for Tobin’s eyes to return to hers and answer her question. 

Looking at Christen, Tobin slid the note into the other girl’s hand, which was still holding on to her wrist. The action was done so gently that anyone watching the two wouldn’t have seen the small interaction take place. Once Christen, had a hold of the note, Tobin backed away with a new found confidence, and sent over a sly smile.

“See you tomorrow.” 

Tobin turned to face Amy and Lauren who had been waiting nearby watching. As Tobin approached the two girls they locked arms on either side of her. 

“What was that about?”

Shaking her head, Tobin looked back to the girl she left behind and shrugged her shoulders. 

“It was nothing.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> come find me and say hi
> 
> loudervoices.tumblr

Feeling a chin rest on her shoulder and arms wrap around her waist, Christen, dragged her eyes away from the older girl and her friends as they walked through the double doors before her. 

“Hey you, sorry I took so long.”

Meeting a pair of dark eyes, the young girl smiled brightly giving a small kiss to her girlfriend. “It’s ok, are you ready?”

Christen, nodded along as she listened to Vero ramble on about her morning and feigned interest in the words coming from her mouth. Her hands toying with the note that she hastily stuffed into the pocket of her favorite hoody. It was a faded Stanford hoodie that her dad bought her when he took her to tour the campus the summer before her freshman year. From a young age her parents taught her to dream, so when she told her parents she wanted to go to Stanford and play soccer, they pulled out all the stops to help make that dream come true. She was only 7 when she decided, and everything she had done to that point was to get there. All of her sacrificed weekends, the hours spent at night studying, taking upperclassman classes in school, it was something Vero could never understand. If Christen was being honest with herself, Vero’s lack of support bothered her more than she cared to admit. 

Christen’s lack of time for Vero was the main source of their arguments. She was constantly traveling with her soccer team, an effort that was paying off as she began to get noticed by the youth national team. It was her happiest moment when they called, asking for her to come into the next camp. Something she still hadn’t told Vero. The two had barely come to an agreement that she could hang out at the house while she studied, however her girlfriend proved to be more a distraction than anything else. 

Reaching for Christen’s hand, Vero pulled her into their class. It was the only one the two girls shared, something she was thankful for. Christen had signed up to take Computer Science, knowing that it would add to her math credits and hopefully be an easy A. However, it proved that learning a computer language was not like math at all. As she struggled to write programs, Vero had taken notice of her, within two weeks she had moved to the seat next to Christen, within three weeks the two girls were making out behind the science building, and within 2 months Vero had fallen in love with the over achiever. As she continued rambling, Vero failed to see Christen looking at the classroom door directly across the hall. 

It had become a last minute habit of hers. Desperately trying to catch a glimpse of her embarrassingly massive crush on a girl, whose name she didn’t even know. As the school year passed, Christen found herself wanting to know the tall lanky girl. One night, Christen finally pulled out her yearbook from her freshman year, trying to put a name to the face. Once she knew Tobin’s name she began asking around her friends in her classes. It was the one time Christen found that being a nerd was an actual blessing. Much to her delight she learned that Tobin in fact liked girls. She had hoped that she would find something disappointing about her crush, but the more she learned the more she wanted to know her. 

“What do you think babe?” sitting down in her seat Christen tried to focus on her girlfriend. The girl, she told herself, was nothing but good to her. 

“I’m sorry, I spaced, what?” With a knowing smile, Vero reached across the aisle to grab Christen’s hand.

“I swear, you’d get lost around here if you didn’t have me.” Christen internally cringed at hearing someone insist that she was helpless, something she definitely wasn’t. “I was asking if you wanted to go to the movies this weekend, since your soccer season is finally on hiatus.”

***

Grabbing her books Christen stormed out the classroom, wanting to get as far from Vero as possible. She couldn’t stand to hear the girl hiss at her any longer as she tried in vain to keep up with their teacher and take notes. 

“What do you mean, you have soccer?” 

“How could you Chris, you promised we’d have at least a month to do stuff?”

“Are you even listening to me?”

About halfway into class Christen finally took a deep break and turned to Vero, her words not the kindest but effectively ending the conversation. “Vero, I’m sorry. But this is a huge opportunity, and I am not turning it down so we can go to the movies. Will you please hush, because unlike you, I actually NEED to study this crap!”

In her haste to escape, Christen, had forgotten who was across the hall, and definitely did not know about their proximity. 

***

“Umph, what the heck Tobs?” As Lauren and Amy animatedly talked about the recent developments in their friend’s life, they failed to notice that she had stopped dead in her tracks. Bumping into Tobin, the two girls looked to see what had caused the lapse of brain function. 

Before them they saw the mystery girl looking back at Tobin, a small smile forming on her face. Standing back the two girls watched as the same goofy face formed on the newly acquainted girls and their cheeks quickly turning red. With a nudge Tobin reluctantly turned to her friends.

“You alright there Tobs?” Rolling her eyes, she quickly turned back to Christen, not wanting to lose sight of her. This time she was met with eyes that were pleading and apologetic, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, she started walking forward, wanting to ask what was wrong. 

Instead of getting an answer, she suddenly understood as she saw the green eyed girl turn to seemingly push away from someone. She watched the interaction wanting to understand what was happening. It was obvious the two were in an argument, but it was also obvious to her that this other girl was not just a friend. Jealousy formed from her gut as she watched Christen get peppered with kisses and being pulled closer to the girl’s body. Not wanting to see anymore, Tobin pulled at her friends and before Christen could turn back, the three girls had disappeared. 

“Vero, get off.”


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn’t the nicest car, but it was almost her dream car. As soon as she got her driving permit she began dropping hints that she wanted nothing else but a Ford Mustang for her first car. Black with leather seats. She’d never admit it, but she wanted it to impress her girlfriend. She knew Tobin wasn’t impressed by much, actually, she had never seen Tobin impressed by anything that didn’t involve soccer, but she wanted her to swoon. What Alex hadn’t expected was a forest green, beat up, trudging along, late 90s, Ford Mustang. Alex was slightly disappointed that it wasn’t perfect, but a car was a car. A car meant taking her girlfriend out on a proper date. It meant picking her up and dropping her off. It meant Alex could take care of Tobin, for once feel like she was offering something in return. She didn’t anticipate that sometimes taking care of Tobin pushed at her patience. 

The heat was becoming too much for Alex as she waited in her car for Tobin to reveal herself. As the minutes passed she became more and more irritated, it wasn’t like the other girl to be any more than 5 minutes late. She had let Tobin know she was waiting almost 30 minutes ago, and her 4 follow up text hadn’t been responded to either. 

Alex: Hey, have you guys seen Tobin? She isn’t responding to any of my texts and I’ve been waiting forever. 

Ashlyn: Nah, haven’t seen her since lunch.

KO: Negative Ghost Rider

Lauren: I just saw her. She was headed to the locker room?

Amy: Damn Toby, you’re in troubleeeee

Ashlyn: Oh shit. 

Alex: ugh. Is anyone headed to the locker room to check?

KO: Walking in now. I’ll let her know. 

**

Walking into her Spanish class, Christen, made sure that Vero was out of sight as she pulled the folded note from her back pocket. It had been burning a hole in her jeans while she argued with her girlfriend, and proceeded to get away from the never ending fight. In retrospect, she hadn’t taken into consideration how difficult it would be to not read the notes as soon as she got them. She had managed to convince herself that she was just formulating a friendship with the older girl, but knew the feeling eating away at her stomach screamed anything but innocent.   
Christen toyed with the note as she tried to make a decision. With a deep breath she considered the consequences of her next move. If she opened the note it meant possibly betraying Vero. Christen knew that she was violating the other girls trust. Sure, she wasn’t doing or saying anything wrong, but it was clear to her that her intentions were not to just formulate a friendship. If she tossed the note it meant wondering what was in it. It meant that she could regret not knowing. It meant that she, once again was choosing someone who never seemed to care about what she wanted.   
The choice was easier than she had hoped for. With every unfolding Christen laughed at the childish doodles that covered the paper. She didn’t know Tobin well, but felt like her personality was seeping from the seams. How could someone that she had barely spoken six words to make her smile like this?

 

Christen,

Yo! What’s up? Thanks for the note! I loved it! Totally not weird and definitely badass. You should have come and said hi a long time ago, we could be best friend by now. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do. So tell me. What’s your middle name, when is your birthday, what is your favorite movie?

Any way I can’t wait to get another note from you! 

Tobin   
AKA  
Most awesome person ever

Ps. – I like stories. Write me one.  
Pps. – We should hang out  
Ppps. – We should totally have code names

**

Walking into the locker room Kelley silently crept up behind the girl hunched over the floor. Quickly grabbing at the girl’s shoulders, she yelled into Tobin’s ear. Jumping, Tobin felt her stomach drop as she scrambled to stand up.

“What the heck was that for?!?” She stood, starring flabbergasted at Kelley as she doubled over in laughter. 

“Prime opportunity, Alex is looking for you. Where is your phone?” Kelley caught her breath as she watched Tobin shove a worn piece of paper in her pocket and pull out her phone. “What’s that you got there Tobs?”

Choosing to ignore her friend, Tobin grabbed her bag to leave. “Gotta go before Lex has my head. I’ll see you at practice in the morning.”

**

KO: Found her, she’s on her way.

Alex: Thank god!

**

As irritated as she was, Alex couldn’t help but laugh as Tobin ran her way to the car. The girl was a mess with her bag falling from her shoulders, hat barely on her head, and books attempting to get away from her grasp. She reached over to open the door, knowing that the alternative option was to watch her girlfriend dropping everything in the middle of the parking lot. 

“Hey babe, what took you so long?” Alex asked as Tobin handed her the various notebooks and climbed into the Mustang.

“I’m sorry, I got distracted and lost track of time. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“I’ve noticed.” 

Reaching to turn on the radio, Tobin hesitated as she looked to Alex who was waiting for a reaction. Alex had always known how to wait for her. To be patient, she knew Tobin would always tell her when she was ready. Most of the time it would come in the middle of a movie, or the late hours of the night. It was always unexpected, but it always came. So when Tobin reached across the console to give her a chaste kiss, Alex was satisfied.


End file.
